This invention relates to a drive assembly and to a gear transmission unit for a wind turbine.
There is a continuing demand for larger wind turbines especially for offshore sites due to scarcity of suitable sites and cost of civil works. At the same time the requirements for reduction of size and weight of the machines and their components become more and more important. Typically a wind turbine rotor drives the low speed shaft of a gear transmission unit, which transforms torque and speed of the rotor to the required torque and speed of an electrical generator.
Integration of the components in a wind turbine is a way to reduce the weight and to make the drive assembly more compact, but it is important that the design and execution of the drive assembly avoids mutual interference of the external and internal loads on the different components. It is also important that the construction of an integrated drive assembly allows effective lubrication to be achieved economically and reliably.
The present invention seeks to provide an improved drive assembly and an improved gear transmission unit for a wind turbine and which permits an advantageous integration of components.